


Us After Midnight

by Mask



Category: The Tempest Series - T. D. Cloud
Genre: Accents, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Avenir is Bad at Feelings, Corbet's Too French for This, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Ireland, Irish slang, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Northern Ireland, Other, Slang, bridges
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-21 12:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11944416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mask/pseuds/Mask
Summary: Avenir enjoys their late night walks. These days, they typically go alone, but in a moment of spite, they take Corbet out of Ruari's far too loving care. They don't want anything, truly. They simply go on a walk with Corbet, and somehow, even that backfires slightly.





	Us After Midnight

2:13 AM.

It wasn’t unlike the Unseelie leader to wander the streets of the cityside, especially at such unpleasant hours of the night. 2AM? 3AM? Four?  _ Five? _ Those were all prime hours for Avenir to wander and be lost in their thoughts. In the early days of their leadership, they were often accompanied by various members of their gang. Sometimes, it’ll be a handful of people. Other times, it would be a massive group of fifty or so, moving with Avenir like a school of fish. But as time went on and as older members of the gang turned to their own interests (mostly messing with younger members), Avenir found that their late night walks were far more… peaceful.

Every now and again though, they missed the bustle of other familiar voices and excitable bodies bumping into theirs. 

Avenir sighed as the thought passed out of their mind. Just then, they had a moment of nostalgia. The early days when the Unseelie gang members moved as a herd through the streets of Derry’s cityside, the early days of untouchability, the days of feeling naught but peace and blissful apathy.

Ah yes… While they occasionally missed their gang members, they missed the nothingness their heart provided even more. Avenir glanced down to their newest late night companion back to Waterside. Damn him, he was stunning. And he wasn’t doing a thing except for walking! The streetlights illuminated him beautifully. The gold tones highlighted the wild curls of his dark hair and gave his pale skin a beauteous glow. He was beautiful. It was effortless.

Annoying.

Avenir closed their eyes, inhaled deeply through their nose, and let it out silently. If they stopped looking at him, they wouldn’t have to dwell on it any further.

     "Okay,” Corbet began, “do you say ‘mum’ or ‘ma’?”

Avenir opened their eyes and stared straight ahead. They were coming up on the bridge, just another few blocks now.

     “Mam,” they replied coolly.

     Corbet smiled up at them in disbelief. “You don’t seem the type.”

     “Dinnae hear? We says a’ mam and a’ da; ain’t a trifle thing t’be lyin’ fer,” Avenir replied, their accent thickening as they spoke.

They looked back down to him, and they saw that the smile had faded into a look of wonder. Corbet and Avenir stopped walking at the same time. Avenir raised their brows slightly. It was amusing to see him speechless.

     “What?” Corbet asked finally.

Avenir laughed. The noise was grainy and low. They began walking again, and after a few steps, Corbet followed after them.

     “No seriously!” He reached up to pinch their jacket at the elbow. He tugged on them to stop, face him,  _ something _ .

Avenir twisted back slightly to look at him, a smirk on their face.

     “Cannae ‘ear us afore?” they asked, purposefully slurring the words to distort his hearing.

That time, he caught onto them and slapped Avenir against the arm with the back of his hand. He began walking faster and shoved his hands into his pockets. Avenir watched him go. Without thinking, they moved a hand to grip their arm where they hit him. It didn’t hurt. They didn’t think he meant it to either. Corbet stopped a few meters ahead of them. He stared up at a building, perhaps admiring its architecture, perhaps wondering how to break in. It was always hard to tell with him.

After a moment, Avenir dropped their hand and moved closer to him. He looked over to them before glancing up to the building again. 

     “Problem?” they asked as they passed him.

     “No.” Corbet easily fell in step. “I was just thinking about something.”

Avenir hummed. They understood how that went. They were constantly thinking, constantly lost in their own thoughts. It happened rather easily, especially when both parties fell into a companionable silence. 

Another ten minutes passed before Avenir and Corbet came to the Peace Bridge. It was silent, completely empty, but it was lit up beautifully. Avenir had walked the length of this bridge many times before at all hours of the day. They always enjoyed the walk—or the bike ride if they appropriated one of the member’s bicycles. 

     “Wow, this is…” Corbet started as they walked along the bridge.

Avenir glanced down to him, and whereas the yellow street lights in the cityside warmed him delightfully, the Peace Bridge’s lights gave him this dreamlike glow. Avenir’s brows twitched slightly. 

     “… Damn,” he said in a breath before laughing. “Sorry, this is just… It’s really pretty.”

Avenir nodded in slow agreement. “It’s one of our favourite sights.” They looked away towards Waterside. “Nothing quite like walking home over this bridge. It’s centering.”

     “Yeah, it’s true,” Corbet said softly in French. 

As they came to the center of the bridge, he stared up at the white fixtures brilliantly lit up. He reached out a hand to touch it but only came in contact with the chainlink security fence. Avenir looked to his hand and then to his profile. He seemed transfixed. Where had his mind gone? What was he thinking about?

Avenir looked to his hand again, and they thought about overlapping it with their own and curling their fingers betwixt his. They reached out and…

They grabbed the wrist of his jacket and tugged him along. 

     “Come then,” Avenir replied in French almost as thick as their regular accent. “No point in standing out here all night.”  

Corbet turned his hand and wrapped his fingers around Avenir’s wrist instead. They looked back down to him. 

     “We’re not in a hurry,” he said to them. “Let’s just enjoy it for a little longer.”

Avenir felt a warmth creep up over their ears and face as their eyes met Corbet’s. They looked away. They hummed in agreement. Corbet withdrew his hand before shoving both into his pockets. Avenir did the same. Their curled their fingers into a loose fist. They tried to ignore the lingering touch on their fingers and instead decided to get lost in their thoughts just for a little while.


End file.
